I Promised You Anything
by American-Pisces
Summary: Reagan wished for nothing more than her life to be like an anime, though after a transmutation attempt actually has her to come face to face with Truth, Reagan realizes she got way more than she bargained for. (Mostly AU)
1. Just One More Chance

_Author's Note: This is my first attempt at an FMA fic, I've been dying to do one for years! Please R&amp;R! I don't own any of the characters no matter how much I wish I did :P_

Florida, USA

"Do you really have to go back to college?"

"Reagan, do you really have to go back to school?"

"Yes…"

"And I have to go back to college."

"It's not fair Grace, why can't we just be free spirits and fly away from it all?"

"Because we aren't meant to fly with wings, but with our minds."

"What does that even mean?!"

"I read it somewhere, you'll figure it out."

Grace hugged her sister tightly and laughed as Reagan scrunched up her face in thought. She sighed, Reagan wasn't even thinking, her eyes weren't glossed over like how when she was normally in deep thought. Her sister's sharp emerald eyes were trained on her anime covered laptop, go figure.

"You'll get wrinkles if you keep your face like that Reagan."

"Maybe I'll look as old as you do!"

Reagan pulled away from Grace laughing and started running away as Grace tried to tackle her.

"Get back here you midget! You'll pay for that!"

"WHO YOU CALLING SO SMALL YOU NEED TWO MICROSCOPES TO SEE SINCE ONE AIN'T ENOUGH?!" Reagan spun around screaming as Grace tackled her.

'_Ha! Reagan fell for the bait! It always works.'_

_Oof._

Grace adjusted herself so she was sitting square on Reagan's back pinning her down. No matter how much Reagan squirmed and wriggled, she couldn't get out from under Grace. With a huff, Reagan stopped moving.

"That was cheap…"

"You called me old."

"You called me a midget!"

Chuckling, Grace started to carefully run her fingers through her sister's golden hair and braid it back, just like she did a hundred times before. Reagan huffed a few times trying to blow her bangs out of her face.

'_Stupid bangs, they never make it into the braid.'_

"I'm so jealous of your hair. It's so beautiful and soft. It's just like dad's was."

"That ex-military bastard left us, Grace. Let him die in your thoughts already." Reagan snapped at her sister. Yet again, their father was a sensitive topic. He and their mother fought about everything for so long after he got back from service years ago, then one day he just slammed the door and left. Grace always thought he would come back, or at least be there for her. She was only four when he left, but she still hoped he would return. Reagan couldn't care less, she was glad he was gone. He deserved all of her hate in her mind. She may not have the memories Grace had, but she had watched enough Disney movies to know "ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten."

"Whether you like it or not, he is our biological parent, at least respect him, Reagan."

"If you stop talking about him right now, I'll consider it."

"You are such a brat."

"Grace," Reagan sighed and turned to half look up at her sister, "I don't want to have this fight before you leave. It would suck. Majorly."

"Fine, truce then?" Grace playfully bowed and extended a hand to her sister. Reagan snatched her hand and jumped up shrugging.

"Sure."

Grace smiled and hugged her.

"Here help me finish packing my stuff and loading it into my car."

"Fine."

After the last bag was loaded into the car, Reagan turned to watch her sister hug their mother tightly and shake hands with their step-dad. He tried to be a good man, but he was no father type, and Grace was too dead set on only having one father figure she never tried to accept anyone new.

"Try to get away with just a handshake and I'll punch you." Reagan joked as Grace pulled her into a bear hug.

"I would never, we're sisters. There is no Grace without Reagan." She smirked and punched Reagan playfully in the arm.

"Damn right there isn't. Now give 'em hell! Show them the power of the eldest Ryan!"

"You make it sound like I'm embarking on an epic quest, it's only a legendary one." Grace smirked. That was Grace in a nutshell, totally the gamer girl with the brains of a major nerd. She had only been to college for a semester now, but was already one of the most popular girls and had a ton of boys after her. She took after their mom so much with the soft green eyes that put a puppy to shame and the wavy red hair that almost always made her look like a leprechaun; not to mention the killer temper that followed if someone pushed her too far. When they were younger it was easy to see them as siblings, but now, it was obvious to see who took after which parent.

"Of course, my lady." Reagan bowed as Grace smacked her in the back of the head.

"I'll be back to annoy my flea-sized sister soon. Oh, and when I come back I'm taking you to that Con you have been talking about, I'll even cosplay with you. You can even pick the people, just remember that not all of us are micro-shrimp." She smiled and got in the car to drive off as Reagan started to creatively rant.

'_Damn that red headed witch! I'm not short for the last damn time!'_

_RING. RING. RING._

The house phone blared throughout the noiseless house. Reagan turned over in bed covering herself with her blankets.

"Damn telemarketers, what do they want with us at midnight…" She grumbled trying to block out the noise.

Footsteps shuffled into the kitchen and answered the phone. Soon the silence in the house went from comfortable to unbearable as the sounds of crying crept into Reagan's room.

"That's not a telemarketer…" Quickly rubbing her eyes and quickly shuffling into the kitchen. She froze at the door. Her mother say on the ground clutching the phone like a lifeline as her step-dad held her close rubbing her shoulders. Her mother was listening intently to whoever was speaking as she tried to keep her tears to a minimum.

"Okay… thank you sir… I'll inform them." As her mother hung up the phone and turned to her, Reagan caught her breath, her mother's eyes were dull with no sign of the light they normally had, her skin was pale as tears carved rivers into her cheeks. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Mom?..." Reagan inched carefully over and down to her, careful not to move to suddenly and risk breaking her. This was so unlike her, she was always strong, never sad or afraid. She hadn't cried in years, at least not in front of Reagan.

"Baby girl…" Her mother clung to her like a wet sheet, tears flowing freely as she whispered one word into Reagan's ear. The word that broke her own heart and stopped it cold.

" It's Grace."


	2. Desperate Times

_Author's Note: The Bold and Italic conversation later on is all in Reagan's head. Finally we are getting into the world! Disclaimer for whole book: I don't own anyone except for Reagan and her family!_

It had been weeks after the news, but everything still felt frozen. School crawled by, classes even more so, friends and parties became unbearable, even eating was pointless. The only reason she even did her homework now was just to make sure she Grace's ghost wouldn't beat the crap out of her. Though she had considered skipping it once or twice to see if Grace would come back to haunt her, but the thought of disappointing Grace was too heavy on her mind. Everywhere Reagan went, anything reminded her of Grace, it was pathetic, in her opinion, but she couldn't help it. There was no respawn for Grace, no start over, nothing. This wasn't a videogame or an anime no matter how much she wished it was. Grace was gone for good.

"No….no no no no." Reagan held her head in between her hands pulling on her golden locks, she could still barely wrap her head around it. One stupid drunk man in a pickup truck, that's all it took, to take away her other half. Reagan could barely remember the funeral, she was too lost in rage and grief. She changed for a few days, she remembered that. She was dangerous, reckless; everything Grace warned her not to be since they were little.

"Because we aren't meant to fly with wings, but with our minds."

Reagan slammed her left fist into the ground and fiddled with the ring on her finger. It was Grace's ring, her favorite, and now it was Reagan's, the class ring felt weird, foreign. It didn't belong on Reagan's fingers, but it was better than letting it sit in a box. Or in the cold, distant, coffin…. She could imagine Grace telling her to "pick herself up and keep going" or to "pick up where I left off". Grace never let things bother her long, her eyes were always focused on the future.

"I would do anything to hear your voice again, Grace. I wouldn't even mind if you called me short…" Reagan laughed emptily and glanced around her room. She meant it, she would do anything.

'_Even the taboo.'_

Reagan sighed and pulled her body off the floor to stretch. Leave it to her brain to always go back to anime. Maybe that was her way of coping, stupid but useful. She laughed at the memory of Grace telling her that they would cosplay together. That day would never come, but at least the thought would still be happy. Grace was always a gamer; she watched some anime, but nowhere near as much as Reagan.

'_Wouldn't that be stupid to even try the transmutation? Alchemy doesn't exist.'_

'_**It falls under the category of anything doesn't it? Besides it would take your mind off everything, get you some fresh air, and if it doesn't work you can say then you tried **__**anything**__**.'**_

"Great now I'm talking to myself."

Reagan sighed and grabbed her bag shoving things into it before flinging it onto her bed and grabbing the red jacket from her chair. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was soft, warm, leather, and Grace's. It still smelled like her perfume too. Reagan quickly fixed her braid then grabbed her bag and headed out the backdoor. She made up some excuse along the lines of "I'm going for a walk to clear my head" so her parents wouldn't question her, but lately they were basically zombies.

One awkward stop at the store to grab final ingredients and a long walk through the woods later, she came upon the old tree house the neighbor kids used to use. The store wasn't too bad once she said it was for a science experiment, she just had to convince the old man running the register that they could not be used in any way, shape or form to make drugs. And on the bright side, the tree house was rarely used since all the kids grew up and most hated coming outside now. So Reagan had it all to herself.

"I'm stupid for trying this. Stupid for considering it. Stupid for having a shred of hope at its success. But it does fall under the category of anything. I'm doing this for Grace, no matter how stupid."

Reagan carefully laid out all the materials, counting them off as she went.

"Water- 35 liters, carbon- 20 kilograms, ammonia- 4 liters, lime- 1.5 kilograms, phosphorus- 800 grams, salt- 250 grams, saltpeter- 100 grams, sulfur- 80 grams, fluorine- 7.5 grams, iron- 5 grams, silicon- 3 grams, and 15 other trace elements I could get my hands on."

She carefully put the mixture aside and started drawing the circle.

"Maybe all my class doodles do pay off, that looks damn good."

She sat back for a second and put a hand to her chest.

"Why am I nervous? It's not going to work, it won't even do a thing. Alchemy doesn't exist no matter how much I wish it did."

She quickly finished any details and carefully placed the mixture in the middle.

"Oh! Blood, need that in there!"

She glanced around for something sharp and settled on her nails. She bit her lip in hesitation, then cut her finger letting a few drops into the mixture.

"That should be everything. So now is just the transmutation right?"

She carefully placed her hands on the outside of the array.

...

...

...

...

"Nothing… just as I thought."

She went to move her hands, but nothing happened. She couldn't move them at all, she tugged and tugged, but nothing.

"What the hell?!"

She glanced up to a faint blue light creeping around the circle, then slowly it grew and grew, engulfing the circle, causing her to squint.

"No way…"

Soon the blue light took over and became blood red.

"Wait... I know this, that's not good! That's not good!"

She frantically tugged at her hands, but they refused to move, she couldn't even move her eyes from the center of the circle. No matter how many times she blinked the light was still there.

'_I have to be dreaming this! It can't be real!'_

Her heart froze as a giant eye opened up filling the circle. Small black hands flew out and latched onto her.

'_No! Alchemy isn't supposed to be real! This can't be real! Wake up, damn it, WAKE UP!'_

As the small black hands pulled her legs apart, she cried out not caring who heard her. Pain wasn't supposed to be this real in dreams, the mind had to have a mental limit right?! The hot white pain was almost too much for her to bear, it drowned out any sound of her screams. The hands pulled everything apart, the pain only growing with each piece removed.

'_This can't be real. This isn't real! I'm going to wake up drunk somewhere or in my bed! THIS ISN'T REAL!'_

The slamming of a gigantic door behind her said otherwise.


	3. It Was Always Real

_Author's Note: Please R&amp;R! I don't own any characters other than my OC! _

She carefully cracked her eyes open. Whiteness. Never ending whiteness. No pain, no grabby black hands, nothingness. She carefully ran her hands over her body, checking to make sure everything was intact. Reagan stared at her hands, turning them over slowly, taking in every feature, making sure they were still there. The bracelet on her right wrist, Grace's ring on her right ring finger, the ingredient list on her left hand, everything was still intact causing her to release a breath she didn't know she was holding.

'_Did I die? No, no, not dead. I must be hallucinating, or dreaming, there is no way that this really-'_

"Hello there." The echoic voice snapped her thoughts in half. Her eyes focused on it. The Truth. Sitting there no more than five feet away from her smugly grinning.

_'No way...this can't be happening.' _

"Answer me this Truth, am I dreaming?"

"You shoot straight to the point, I like it. But dreaming? No, this is very real."

"How did I get here? Alchemy doesn't exist in my world!"

The Truth laughed out loud grabbing at its sides, the very sound shook Reagan to the core and gave her chills. She just stared at the rolling figure, her mind slowly trying to process everything that was going on.

"Or does it really exist and no one speaks about it? You're here now, aren't you?"

"So I…. it really…"

The Truth nodded as she trailed off and smiled.

"How do I get home then?"

It's not that she wanted to leave, but being near Truth was a bad omen, also that was the first question to tumble out of her mouth.

"You'll have to figure that out, won't you?"

Reagan brushed her golden bangs back as a dark thought passed over her mind.

"Truth... Did I... Did I create a monster back home? Like what happened to the boys?"

Her voice came out shakily, no matter how brave she tried to sound. She prayed that it wasn't Grace she brought back, or best case scenario in her mind was that she brought nothing back.

"Ah, so you do know. I can safely say you did not."

The words settled Reagan's mind, but the smile that was staring back at her made every alarm in her head go off.

'_I got here, but now how the hell do I get back? I know Truth isn't going to just send me back with this information. There is always a catch, always.'_

"What's the catch Truth?"

"Hmm?" The feigned innocence set Reagan on edge even more.

"You and I both know about this world, about alchemy, the Elrics, the promised day, so what are you going to do to me? I have a sinking feeling you aren't going to just send me back, especially not with all of this information."

"You're right! I know, I'll send you to their world completely!"

The sinking feeling got worse in Reagan's gut. She knew the catch was coming, the air felt cold and tense, it had to be the catch. Though a small part in the back of her brain was excited beyond words, it didn't compare to the overwhelming nerves and feeling of dread.

"And here comes the catch."

"I'll just take a toll from you and show you the truth in exchange for that. Deal?"

"I know it isn't really a deal. I have no choice."

"You are smart."

The blast of wind from the door opening knocked Reagan's braid forward as the hands grabbed her. This time she didn't scream, she just tensed up, she knew what was coming. The hands, the pain, the truth, she watched the Elric brothers go through it, but she didn't know how much pain seeing it all would put her through. This wasn't a show she could pause anymore, this was reality now. Her reality. Once the information started, she wasn't prepared. Not in the slightest. But it was all over too fast. Too soon. So much was still beyond her grasp! She was standing in front of the door once more far too soon.

"It's...I saw it all. My world...and alchemy! It is real! It's always been real!"

She turned around and suddenly screamed as she came face to face with Truth.

"Of course it is, but now your toll needs to be paid for the trip."

Reagan watched as the Truth slowly started to have an arm, no HER arm. Her left arm stuck out in all the white brightness, the glaring loss shoved in her face. Truth spoke before her body could completely grasped what she saw.

"Now go, and try not to die out there."

The Truth's laughter was the last thing she heard.


	4. Take Back Control

_Author's Note: Sorry for being away so long! So to make up for it here is a long chapter! Now the fun can begin in the wild world of Amestris! Please R&amp;R since I'm still new to this!_

Chapter 4

Warmth. Dripping warmth. Dripping copper smelling warmth. Reagan bolted upright from her spot on the ground. Groaning with the dull headache still drumming away, Reagan tried to steady herself with her left arm...and fell to the ground. Into a puddle of blood. Her own warm blood.

"Huh?! What the…" Reagan slowly looked down where her left arm should be and shrieked. She knew it was gone as the toll, but seeing the bleeding and the general absence was still so surreal. She'd never broken a bone before, she never imagined losing a limb completely. Her eyes froze on the invisible limb, her mind pleading for her eyes to be lying, for her arm to move, for anything. The phantom limb never reappeared. It was gone. Her left arm was completely gone.

'_You're bleeding you, idiot! You need to stop it! Use the sleeve as pressure on the wound then find help!'_

She pulled her jacket off, slung it over her shoulder and applied pressure with her right hand. She silently promised to thank the scientific side of her brain for keeping calm. She also promised to thank her grandmother and mother for being nurses and dragging her along all those years. But those "thank you's" had to wait, first she had to find some bandages or help, somewhere. She shakily stood up and surveyed the area before her. Green grass, rolling hills, no houses as far as she could see, the only mark of civilization she could see was a small dirt road, large enough for one car.

"Well crap... I guess I should follow it somewhere, hopefully before I bleed out..."

–-

"No, no you're lying man, I totally see that pipsqueak marrying his mechanic one day."

"Didn't they grow up together?"

"Yeah, they did, the three of them were inseparable. I used to see them carrying food back to their grandma's house every weekend."

"Oh they were carrying the bags? Ha, I just assumed the bags were floating back to the house."

The two older men laughed as they continued down the road to the Rockbell household with the mechanical pieces Winry requested. They weren't planning on informing her or either Elric brother of the running bet in town that one of the brothers would eventually marry Winry. Pinako was betting strong with four drinks on Ed proposing to Winry in the most embarrassing way possible, since it was Ed and he always screwed up with girls somehow.

"Hey, what's that?"

"What?"

"Over there!" The first man pointed to a figure stumbling towards the road. The figure seemed dirty and disheveled, clutching a reddish jacket to its left side. After wobbling a few times, the figure collapsed ahead of them on the side of the road.

"Pull over! We need to help whoever that is."

The men pulled over and jumped out, pausing at the sight of a bloody blonde pressing a jacket onto her left arm socket for dear life.

"To Winry?"

"To Winry."

The men nodded and carefully loaded the blonde into the back with the mechanical parts.

"So you found her on the side of the road?"

The words sounded distant, distorted, as if the speaker was underwater...or was the listener under water?

"Yeah, she was stumbling towards the road then just straight up collapsed. We didn't know her arm was completely gone though! We thought she was just bleeding."

Reagan's eyelids felt like lead and the thought of trying to open them sounded so absurd it wasn't even worth a second thought. She knew they were talking about her, but everything was so fuzzy that it pained her to try to listen intently.

"I'll give her an arm grandma, don't worry. I have a few designs I wanted to try anyways, I am pretty sure I have a spare around until I finish the new one."

"If you're positive about this Winry I won't say no. I just have a lot of questions for her. And be careful with those new designs, we don't have enough to buy all new parts if you mess up, and she doesn't seem to have any money..."

"We found her and brought her here, we'll pay, just make sure she's okay. Something rough happened to her."

Murmurs of agreement spread around the room, and the sound of a door closing roused Reagan slightly from her stupor. Her eyes still felt heavy, but she knew she wasn't dead.

"Grandma?"

"Yes, Winry?"

"It's a clean cut, like it was removed... Or taken...do you think..."

As her quiet voice trailed off, Reagan's stomach churned violently as she mentally finished that sentence. She was basically forcing Winry to work on someone else who had committed the taboo. Someone else who made a horrible mistake. The sudden feelings of guilt and self-loathing crashed into her already aching head, this just seemed to be disaster after disaster.

'_I'm sorry Winry, I'm so sorry.'_

"Don't think too much about it Winry, just focus on the task. We can ask her when she wakes up if you really want to."

Winry hummed in agreement as her footsteps began to leave the room. By Reagan's calculations that meant only Pinako was left, and she wanted to desperately move, see, or say anything to the older woman. Her mind could still barely grasp the fact that she was here, in Amestris, far away from Florida.

"I hope your story is different than what I think it is..."

Was all the older woman had to say before leaving Reagan alone to her dizzying thoughts and swirling mind.

_A week later_

Pinako glanced up from her dinner to look at the golden hair across the table. It felt so strange to have a guest in the house first off, secondly it was unsettling at times how silent the golden haired girl was, the older woman had grown so used to shouting and mayhem echoing around whenever guests came since it was almost always the Elrics. She hated how tormented the girl's eyes were, yet the girl refused to speak about what was swirling around her mind; instead she would just lock herself upstairs in her borrowed room and bury her nose and worries into her various books. Regardless of her speaking or not, Pinako knew she was scared. The girl had good reason, the automail surgery was going to be tomorrow, and every night she seemed to have nightmares, not to mention her trying to cope with not having a left arm.

"You've been pretty quiet since you woke up a week ago. Some people may consider that rude."

The older woman didn't want to be rude, but sometimes teenagers needed a good verbal slap to the face to wake up.

"Grandma! Don't be rude, she-"

"Don't Winry. Look, I love having guests, believe me it's very quiet and lonely out here sometimes, but I also love to know who my guests are."

Reagan looked up at the older woman and her red faced granddaughter. Internally she felt guilty for being so rude, but her mind just couldn't think of a decent story or anything to explain why she was here. The truth was too absurd to tell, but she didn't want to lie.

"Reagan..."

One word, that's all her voice could manage without threatening betrayal by tears. She glanced outside towards the gathering clouds, it was going to rain soon. Normally that would calm her, now it just made her feel more depressed and isolated. Winry's voice brought Reagan's attention back to the table.

"That's a nice name, I like it. I'm Winry, but you already knew that..."

Reagan couldn't help but crack a small smile for the flustered teen girl. Ever since she arrived Winry was always by her side trying to make her laugh or smile. She was as kind as she was beautiful, and stubborn...oh so stubborn. No matter how much Reagan tried to shut down, Winry was always there trying to open her up, it didn't matter what the problem was, Winry was always willing to help.

"I personally like Winry better, maybe we should switch names."

Pinako seemed pleased to hear more than one word from their guest and smiled as she watched the small smile creep further across Reagan's face.

"Now don't go switching names on me, girls! It's hard enough having two teenage girls in one house!"

The older woman felt victorious as Reagan began to laugh and talk more. Finally, after a week of silence and obsessive reading, they got their guest to open up. Though all too soon, they had to talk about a serious topic that was sure to spoil the mood. The automail application tomorrow.

"So are you nervous, Reagan?"

Winry nervously twirled a strand of hair between her fingers as she looked across the table. However, Reagan didn't look as scared or as nervous as Winry expected, she seemed...calm.

"Not really, I know it's going to hurt, but I trust you Winry," with a glance to Pinako, Reagan quickly added, "and you Ms. Pinako."

"Good, Winry's the best automail mechanic around! Ha, she gets enough practice with how many times Ed breaks his arm."

Reagan had to stifle a chuckle, she had to act like she had no idea who Edward and Alphonse Elric were, which was going to be a nearly impossible task.

"He wouldn't break it so much if he wasn't acting so reckless all the time or neglecting his simple maintenance!"

Winry's face heated up as she slammed her fist on the table. Reagan couldn't fight it anymore as she burst out laughing. Winry fumed as Pinako chuckled and tapped her pipe.

"Why are you laughing, Reagan?"

Winry looked more like an angry chipmunk, rather than a possibly deadly wrench weilder, which only caused Reagan to laugh harder.

"I'm sorry Winry, I know you love your automail, but for a minute there it sounded like you actually expected a teenage boy to be responsible and rational."

"Reagan has a point Winry, Ed will never change. He's been this way for sixteen years, I highly doubt he will ever be rational."

Winry sighed in agreement and leaned back in her chair. She looked out the window for a few seconds before turning back to Reagan.

"So in all seriousness, are you ready?"

Reagan nodded her head. She was more than ready, she was willing and eager, if they had offered it now she may have gone for it. She wanted control of her life back, and that came with a new shiny arm.

"I'm ready."

"Okay, so I'm going to count to three, then I'm going to attach the nerves. Sound good, Reagan?"

Winry glanced up from her precious work to make sure Reagan was still functioning. So far she was handling it well, she was still talking and breathing normally. Pinako threatened to beat her once or twice when she screamed various curse words, but stepped back on those threats after Reagan nearly bit through her lip trying to prevent cursing a third time. Grandma Pinako stood on the opposite side of Reagan offering calming words and support when Reagan seemed to need it most. All together this system was effective and quick since it was only an arm.

"Yeah, three gives me enough time to- GAH!"

Reagan tried not to scream but she wasn't prepared at all. Winry said to three, that wasn't three! That wasn't even one!

"Sorry, sorry, but you would've tensed up if I actually counted."

Reagan stole a glance over at Winry as she finished the minor adjustments, then looked back at Pinako who had a broad smile on her face.

"How do you feel, Reagan?"

Pinako's eyes were already scanning the girl over. She seemed pale and sweaty, but that was it be expected from the intense pain she just went through without being prepared. Her new arm seemed to fit nicely with her body, and Winry's new design made it lighter than what Ed had. Altogether the older woman was again impressed by the skill her granddaughter had.

"I feel like I've been run over a few times by a large truck, and I still see a few stars, but I should be functioning in a little while if you need me too."

The girl cracked a smile as Winry finished and put her hands on her hips in approval.

"It looks good on you Reagan, but it will take sometime to get used too. You'll definitely need to take it easy for awhile."

Reagan nodded and allowed her right hand to drift over the edges and curves in the metal. It felt strong and sturdy, yet light and manageable. She thought she'd never get used to the sensation of the smooth metal meeting her skin or how it felt to close her new hand and open it slowly. It would take a lot of getting used to, but so would using alchemy. As her eyes lingered on the metallic fingers clenched into a tight fist, she made up her mind. Recovery time would be spent learning everything from new combat styles to alchemy. She wouldn't waste this chance, this was for her. This was for Grace.


	5. My Promise To You

_Author's Note: I don't and never will own any characters from FMA, I only own Reagan. _

Chapter 5

Winry leaned against the windowsill watching Reagan practice punches and alchemy, then trying to combine the two. It had only been five days, but the poor girl couldn't sit still any longer. Yet, Winry had to give her credit, at least Reagan knew her boundaries. She was smart enough to rest if her arm began to feel numb or start to bleed at the transition mark, she didn't push herself too far when it came to her new workout regime of attempting flips and back handsprings and she even did her daily maintenance.

"Let me guess, she's out there again practicing."

Pinako's voice waltzed into the room as she began to prepare dinner.

"Of course she is, when isn't she practicing?"

"When she's reading. Or eating."

Winry laughed at the deadpan look her grandmother had. It was true, Reagan never seemed to sit still for long, she always had to be doing something. Winry admired the drive the girl had, she was going to get to her goal no matter what...whatever that goal was.

"Hey grandma?"

"Hm?"

"What do you think her goal is?"

Pinako stopped preparing for a second and looked at Winry seriously.

"I don't know, but don't ask her until she is ready to tell us. Alchemists are a strange bunch, you know that as well as I do, but if we have learned anything about them from Ed and Al, it's that sometimes it's better not to know."

After a few seconds of understanding silence, Winry turned back to the window to watch Reagan try to deconstruct some earthen pillars she made.

"I know, I'm just worried that's all."

"She'll tell us when she's ready."

Winry nodded at her grandmother as the front door closed and Reagan shuffled into the kitchen. Her braid was a mess and she was covered in a fine layer of dirt.

"How'd it go Reagan?"

Pinako glanced at the girl over her shoulder before returning her gaze to the bubbling stew.

"It's getting easier, I finally am getting the hang of flipping backwards. Plus, my alchemy isn't too shabby, still needs work though. At least I didn't knock myself out."

Regan thought back to the first time she tried to punch using her automail arm and nearly knocked herself down due to the imbalance. That was an embarrassing time that all parties present agreed never to speak of. However, it was made better by Pinako telling stories of Ed failing the first couple of times he tried to use his automail limbs.

"Well good, now go get cleaned up before dinner."

Pinako dismissed the dirt covered blonde with a wave of her stirring spoon.

"You what?!"

Winry stared at Reagan in disbelief.

"I said, I need to go to Central."

Regan stared down into her empty bowl of stew. She knew Winry was upset, but she didn't want to see the look Pinako had.

"But you've only had your automail for five days! Do you know how reckless that is?!"

"Winry, I don't mean now. I'm just saying when you think I'm okay to go, I need to."

Winry opened her mouth to argue once more, but Pinako raised her hand.

"What's in Central you need?"

Reagan carefully looked up at the two women across the table. She had been planning this conversation since she woke up in the Rockbell residence, yet so far it had not gone according to any plan she had.

"Books. There is something I need to research. Something important to me."

Winry's eyes seemed to be ready to flood at any minute. Reagan couldn't bear to see her like that, Winry was always happy, this didn't fit her. She didn't want to go, but she had to. She had to know if there was a way home for her, she loved it here, she didn't really want to leave, but she had to at least know. Reagan had stayed up countless nights theorizing and questioning everything about her real life, and if any place was going to have answers it was Central. If not Central, she could find out where to go from there.

"At least five months. Five months of recovery and then I'll test your arm."

Reagan snapped her head towards Winry. Her head was down, her hands pushing roughly into her lap, and her voice was trembling.

"Thank you so much Winry. It means a lot to me."

Winry slowly looked up, her blue eyes glistening with tears.

"But can you tell me why?"

Reagan signed. She knew what Winry meant. Not why she was leaving, why she had to do research.

"I need to find a way to reverse what I did. I need to at least know there is a way to fix a mistake I made. I owe it to someone who was very important to me."

Reagan pursed her lips together tightly. She wanted to tell them everything, but she was scared. They had dealt with this kind of thing before, but the Elrics were family to them and they were kids at the time. But this wasn't exactly the same situation either, she didn't care about her body, she could live with an automail arm forever, but she just had to know that it was possible to get home.

"Did you...did you do it?"

The mention of "it" started the silent cascade of tears down Winry's face. Reagan's eyes threatened the same, but she couldn't. Not now, not in front of them. She had to be strong, she had to...had to be...had to give in to the tears that flowed down her face.

"Yes... I did... I just... I just wanted to hear my sister laugh one more time..."


	6. Open Up

_Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! Please R&amp;R, anything__helps!__Hope you enjoy!_

'Phone conversation'

"Dialogue"

'_Thoughts'_

Two weeks since that conversation over the remains of dinner. Two weeks of intense training and learning until the point of exhaustion. Two weeks of sheer boredom during the day and nightmares at night…

"Winry, am I-"

"Don't ask again Reagan or I swear you'll need surgery to pull this wrench out of your head."

"Fine...fine… I won't ask again." Reagan flopped off the couch and started doing pushups in the middle of the living room. She didn't mean to annoy Winry while she worked, but the idea of answers being out there but just barely out of reach drove Reagan insane.

"Here Reagan, why don't you go into town and go get some groceries for us?" Pinako always knew when to send Reagan out so the girl avoided injury via wrench. Though, she couldn't blame the girl for getting restless. The older woman thought back to when Ed was recovering from his surgery and how restless he was.

"Okay, okay, fine." Pinako watched as the blonde pushed up from the ground and headed towards the door. As soon as the door closed, the older woman looked at her granddaughter.

"You know she is going to train harder and harder until you let her leave, right?"

"Yeah, I figured that out the night she brought up going to Central."

Winry sighed and watched out the window as the girl headed down the dirt road and into town. She looked a lot better than she did the day she arrived. Her long blonde hair was braided back nicely, her red leather jacket was cleaned up and now bloodstain free, and she had on Winry's old tan work cargos and a black tank top all tied together with the combat boots she arrived with. Winry's thoughts slowly began to drift to Ed and Al as she watched Reagan's retreating figure.

'_I wonder what those two are up to now… would it kill them to call every once in a while? Just to say, I don't know, I'm not dead? I'm taking care of my automail? Anything at all...'_

The peaceful silence of the house was broken by the shrill ringing of a phone.

"Winry!"

"I got it grandma!"

WInry strolled across the room and picked up the phone.

"Hello, Rockbell Automail, how can we help you?...HE DID WHAT?!"

Reagan glanced back at the Rockbell residence then looked back at the small town coming into view.

_'I feel like I should be overjoyed right now, but instead I just don't feel...anything. I used to pray and beg to be in this place, yet now I'm here and I just… I don't know anymore...'_

Sighing, the blonde ran her hands through her bangs then looked at her automail arm.

_'I didn't mean to annoy Winry, I just need to do something, anything. I can't train forever and without a teacher I can't learn how to actually fight. If I ever get out of here I'll be practically useless...'_

She glanced around the sleepy town still trudging to the small store.

'_Five months can't be that long right? I gotta stay optimistic! Yeah….right, who am I kidding?'_

"Let me guess, Ed busted his arm again doing some mission because he was being reckless?" The older woman pushed up her glasses while shaking her head. When was that boy ever going to mature?

"Yep, I need to head out to Central to fix it."

"Why not take Reagan with you?"

Winry halted her maddened packing, glancing up her grandmother. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the older woman tap her pipe against her lips.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Pinako sighed and glanced over her shoulder to make sure Reagan wasn't hovering nearby.

"She's been practically begging you Winry. Besides, that girl is so determined to get to Central I'm more worried about her taking off on her own without us knowing. It may be better for her to follow you around."

Winry shoved a few more clothes in her bag running various scenarios through her head. It would be better if she could keep an eye on Reagan, maybe she could even ask Lt. Riza or even the Colonel nicely to look after her. However, Reagan seemed to be the type that would detest having a babysitter…

"Why not? What's the worst she could do?"

Pinako laughed and tapped her pipe a few times.

"Knowing that girl and her attitude, quite a bit. For a girl as small as her, its surprising how much of a temper she holds."

Winry opened her mouth-

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO TINY THEY COULD COMFORTABLY SIT ON THE TIP OF A NEEDLE?"

Both women turned to look at a fuming Reagan in the doorway. Winry burst out laughing at the sight of Reagan's curled fists and puffed up red face. Now Reagan looked like an angry chipmunk. Pinako sighed and put her hand to her temple.

"I didn't realize how alike you and Ed are. This is a whole new level of scary."

Reagan stopped fuming immediately as Pinako's words processed in her brain. It dawned on her that the entire time she was with them, this was the first time she ever went off. She had always been quiet, respectful, even timid at times. It felt so natural though since she did these rants all the time with Grace. She never raised her voice while she was here and yet she felt so comfortable she went off on a short rant so easily… Her cheeks felt hot suddenly, and it wasn't from anger. She bowed her head low as her bangs covered her face.

"Sorry...I'm so used to being called...well stuff like that from my sister, and I would always scream at her...now...now I feel awkward…"

Winry stopped packing for a second and suddenly pulled Reagan into a tight hug. The golden haired girl immediately tensed up at the contact.

"Don't worry about it, we were just shocked, it's been awhile since there was a shouting match here. Anyways, you may get to hear another soon enough.'

Reagan looked up at Winry and after a few seconds her mind wrapped around what she was saying. She was going to see Ed and Al soon.

'_Holy crap, holy crap, it's actually going to happen. Okay, act natural, you don't know who this guy is, remember? Totally a stranger...' _

She quickly dropped her head down low again to disguise the fact that her cheeks flushed red again.

"Did this Ed guy I keep hearing about bust his arm again?"

Winry let go of Reagan and grabbed her bag and toolkit from the bed.

"What do you think?"

"Yes…" Reagan replied with a small smile as she watched Winry's face contort in frustration as she scanned over her tools, grumbling about her precious automail being hurt by a brat.

When Reagan felt confident that she had her blush and heart rate under control she moved her bangs back.

"Go pack your bags Reagan, you and Winry are going to Central."

The golden haired girl shrieked in joy and raced off to her room spouting various "thank you's" and "you are awesome's" as she ran.

"Well grandma, she does seem excited."

"Keep an eye on her, she has a lot of potential, and I don't want that Colonel to snatch her up too."

Winry nodded understanding where her grandmother was coming from. Ed's determination and goal led him to the military, they didn't want to see the same happen to Reagan.

"I hate…. trains…."

"Sorry, Reagan, it's the only way to get to Central, we should count ourselves lucky that we even got on the last train."

Winry looked to the opposite seat at a sprawled out Reagan. The girl's hair was down and cascading over the edge of the seat, her eyes were closed as her hands rested over her eyes and stomach. Winry understood how she felt, the trains from Resembool to Central were never the easiest rides. Winry felt a question pulling on the edge of her tongue but she hesitated to ask. Deciding that now was the best time, Winry took a deep breath and asked away.

"So how did you get to Resembool? I mean since you hate trains and all..."

Reagan bit her lip. How could she explain it without sounding crazy?

"I...I don't really remember." It was half-true at least, one minute she was in Florida, the next she was with Truth, then after that the green grassy hills.

"Oh…"

Reagan could tell even without opening her eyes that Winry didn't like her answer.

"I mean, I woke up there...I'm going to sound crazy, okay Winry? But...but the truth is that I ended up there because I got dumped there…"

Reagan groaned as the clumsy words spilled from her mouth, that wasn't at all what she planned to say. She most definitely sounded crazy now...

"It doesn't sound crazy. I mean, alchemy itself is weird, so I guess anything is possible."

The golden haired girl cracked an eye open to asses the mechanic across from her. Maybe Winry understood more than Reagan gave her credit for.

"Thanks for understanding…"

The alchemist cracked a half smile, but the trains constant wobbling sent her for another dizzy spell. Suddenly, she was thankful for the cool metal instead of a hot fleshy arm.

"Don't worry Reagan, we will be in Central by tomorrow! I'll buy lunch for us!"

Winry's attempt to lighten the alchemist's mood was appreciated but the mention of food roused another bout of groaning.

"Guess you're not a big travel person then?" Winry giggled as she watched the alchemist across from her. She watched Reagan do some interesting things with alchemy, nowhere near Ed's level, but still impressive and yet she was taken down by a train.

Reagan shook her head carefully.

"I used to love to travel, but never by train. Cars I can handle for a period of time, but not trains."

"Well how about you get some sleep? I'll wake you when we get to Central."

"You're a mechanic and a saint…" were the last words to tumble out of Reagan's mouth as she closed her eyes and tried to be anywhere but on that train.


	7. And Then There Were Two?

_Author's Note: Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter! It'll only get crazier from here on out! I hope no one is too OOC, I'm so sorry if they are. Please R&amp;R to tell me anything! Enjoy!_

Winry glanced out the train window a few times as Central came into view; occasionally her eyes would glance over at the curled up figure on the opposite seat. Reagan looked so peaceful when she was sleeping.

"Why does alchemy seem to cause more problems than solving them?" She sighed as she watched Reagan curl up tighter in a ball. It popped into the back of her mind that she honestly didn't know a lot about Reagan. She knew that the girl committed the taboo for her sister, but that was about it. Well, other than the confusing fact that she claimed she was "dumped" into the Resembool countryside. Winry wrote all of that off as the confusing side of alchemy she will never know about and honestly didn't want to know. Safer that way, she figured. The train began to shudder to a stop as they entered Central.

"Hey Reagan, it's time to wake up. We're here." Reagan grunted a response then turned over- falling right onto the floor.

"Ah cold! Cold floor!" Winry couldn't help but laugh as she watched the alchemist flail and jump up quickly from the offending floor.

"As graceful as always." Her laughing only got louder as Reagan glared halfheartedly at her.

"Shut up Winry… Come on, I want to get off this train!" Winry had to quickly grab her bag and toolkit, sprinting to keep up with the hyper alchemist who was already ducking and weaving through the crowds of people.

"Hey get back here!"

"Is that Fullmetal?"

"Don't know, fits the description though: red jacket, hair braided back, pretty short. Plus there's a mechanic over there too."

"Then what are we waiting for boys, let's go nab us an alchemist and a hefty reward."

Four burly and hooded men muscled their way out of the shadows behind the train station; their beady eyes fixed on a red leather jacket bobbing in and out of the crowds.

Winry jumped up and down a few times trying to see over the people ahead of her. She caught a few glances of red, but none of them belonging to her crazy alchemist, after the fourth time she gave up.

"This is what I get for bringing her here, not even five minutes off the train and I lose her… Maybe I can ask the Colonel and his men to look for her."

Winry nodded to herself and pulled her ponytail just a bit tighter.

'_Yeah, she'll be fine here for a while… I hope.'_

Clutching her toolkit to her chest, Winry weaved through the crowd and towards the hospital, waiting with baited breath to teach Ed a lesson with her wrench for messing up _her_ automail again!

"Whoa! This place is huge! Totally feels like a more subdued New York!" Reagan's eyes scanned all the storefronts and alleyways before her. She glanced behind her and smirked when no wrench wielding blonde was in sight.

"I even lost Winry too. I'll go find her eventually, I know this city better than she thinks. Besides, I don't want to make a boring entrance or intrude on their couple's spat, I ship them, but I don't need to lose my hearing over it." She shrugged to herself as she continued walking down the street, watching people as they passed her. The sounds of the city were more subdued than what she was used to, but in its own way it was charming. The people seemed to be made mostly from the same mix though, light blond hair being very common along with blue eyes.

'_Maybe being here isn't so bad. At least I feel like I can breathe again. Though I wouldn't mind seeing some more brown or black hair out here… That would be a bit more homey I guess...'_

She was knocked out of her thoughts as she ran straight into a hulking body in front of her.

"Hello, Fullmetal." A gruff voice addressed her. Reagan looked up, assessing the man before her. As she assessed him, she felt other pairs of eyes fall on her back and sides. Her senses were reliable most of the time, but she prayed it wasn't four against one. But if it was this wasn't going to go well… for them at least. She hoped...

"Oh shit… you're not the good guys huh?"

"Hey there, Miss Riza! I'm here." Winry walked up to the Lieutenant as she gently put a book down.

"Hello, Winry, how was your trip?" The two fell into an easy walk towards an all too familiar hospital room. Winry couldn't wait for the day she wouldn't have to make these trips anymore, since that would mean Ed wouldn't be reckless anymore.

"It was good, I brought a friend this time, but we got separated, do you think you could find her?" The lieutenant smiled down at Winry and nodded.

"Sure, but I'll need a description first."

"It will sound very familiar don't worry about it." Winry couldn't help but smile, she wondered what the lieutenant would think when she met Reagan. It would probably be a big surprise to everyone. Winry began to rattle off details about Reagan and trying not to laugh as Hawkeye's widened as the description went on.

"You weren't kidding Winry, well how about you fix up Ed and I'll go find your friend."

"Sounds like a deal! Thank you Miss Riza!" Winry waved as she opened the door, though as soon as she turned to face the shaking suit of armor and the bandaged male sitting on the bed, her smile turned to a frown and a dark aura spread around her.

"Now what did you do to MY automail this time Edward?!"

Reagan grunted as her back slammed into the brick wall. These guys were strong, but she had alchemy on her side. That had to even the odds right?

"Wow, Fullmetal is as short as they say! Ha!" The one on the far right with a giant scar on his cheek scoffed as Reagan's blood boiled. If they thought she was Fullmetal they had another thing coming!

"WHO THE HELL YOU CALLING SHORT?!" She screamed as she planted her boot square in the offenders chest. He didn't fly back as far as she wished and came flying back at her with another punch. She ducked just in time to feel the breeze tickle her hair.

"Too close…" She murmured under her breath as she rolled to avoid a stomp that definitely would have cracked a rib or two. She couldn't place their fighting style, it was professional but not really militaristic. Was it a mix of the two? Or were they just throwing whatever they could at her?

"Come on men! It's four of us and one Fullmetal!"

Reagan growled and slammed her hands together then against the brick wall behind her sending pillars out to knock two of the men back. She couldn't hold out against four of them attacking at once, they were too strong. She had to outsmart them, not outfight them. Her mind switched tactics as she rolled out from under her pillars and started to focus on dodging more than attacking. Rolling to avoid another kick, Reagan quickly clapped her hands and pushed off the ground putting up a small barrier between the two parties.

"For the last...time guys… I'm not... Fullmetal!" She was flattered they thought so, but she wasn't ready for the fights that followed association with that name. Besides, she technically hadn't met him yet. But back to the important fight at hand, she was running out of breath and energy. They didn't even seem phased aside from various scrapes and cuts from her alchemy or attacks. She was pretty sure she was banged up and she felt a bruise forming on her right side and probably on her back after her meet up with the wall.

"I'm sick of playing games!"

'_And I'm sick of you guys. So we're even...'_

The four charged her small barrier and easily cleared it, she did the only smart thing in her mind. She ran. She pushed her legs as fast as they would go, but they were right on her trail. She was just about to clear a corner when- "YIKE!" She was suddenly pulled backwards. The leader, she assumed, with the balding hair slammed her against the nearest brick wall again, this time with a tighter grip on her throat.

"Really...again with the...wall?" She croaked out. She couldn't help it, but this was getting too common.

"They said you had a smart mouth, but that doesn't matter. Now we got you right where we-"

His sentence was cut short by the cocking of a gun. The three other men turned to face a very angry and focused soldier with her blonde hair clipped up holding a gun towards their leader.

"Let the girl go." The soldier calmly bit the words out but the command in them was clear as day. Reagan struggled as the need for air became more pressing. Her lungs burned for air, though her protests came out as strangled gasps.

"What are you gonna do lady? Shoot me?"

The leader tried to look unafraid, but the female soldier's eyes held a gaze like ice. Even Reagan was a little afraid, but she knew who this woman was. This woman was her savior and none other than Hawkeye.

"I will if you don't put her down. Now."

"Or if you prefer, I could fry you to a crisp." A man with pitch black hair stepped out from behind Hawkeye with his fingers ready to snap. Mustang. It had to be! Reagan would have internally cheered, if her world wasn't getting a little blurry and tinged with black.

'_Shit...I'm being strangled and neither side seems to want to give up.'_

"It's the Flame Alchemist, Boss, just let Fullmetal down!" The scarred lackey pleaded with his boss. The balding boss didn't seem to respond, except for the fact his grip loosened a bit. Then it completely dropped as the Colonel scoffed. Reagan hit the ground coughing and gasping for breath as the boss and his lackeys turned to face the Colonel who had the most arrogant smirk on his face.

"You thought that girl was Fullmetal? Please, if you're goal was to kidnap the actual Fullmetal Alchemist you failed, spectacularly, considering you're starting at the wrong gender." The men glanced back at Reagan who was still on her hands and knees trying to breathe normally.

"Shit… time to go men." They turned to retreat, which was a spectacular mistake since a shot was fired and the leader fell to a knee. Hawkeye walked up to the men with other soldiers following behind her.

"No, you four are going somewhere else entirely."

As the four men were led away, Hawkeye leaned down to be on eye level with Reagan who was just regaining her breath.

"Are you Reagan?" Her voice was soft, kind, a complete switch from the tone she previously had.

"Ye...Yes. Are you with the military?" Reagan already knew the answer, but she had to continue playing the part of the new girl. This was getting harder with each person she met.

"Yes, I'm Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, and that is Colonel Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. Winry sent us to get you."

Reagan smiled at Hawkeye. This day was going to be better than she thought. Maybe she could find a way to have them help her out in her research, or at least give her access. Somehow.

"Thanks for the rescue...Not a moment too soon." Hawkeye helped Reagan up and kept an eye on the girl as she stumbled a bit.

"So Winry's description was accurate, she does look a lot like Fullmetal." The Colonel looked Reagan up and down, especially focusing on the left arm she kept hidden behind her back.

"Why are you hiding your arm? Is it injured?" He was already too used to stubborn teenagers hiding their injuries. He wasn't going to play this game with this new girl.

"N-no...My sides are a bit bruised, but my arm is kinda...embarrassing." Reagan wasn't completely lying, having automail was cool, but she hated when people stared at her and the arm. She felt like a circus freak and that wasn't cool by her.

"Why is your arm embarrassing?" Hawkeye's soft voice drew Reagan's attention out of her thoughts.

"Well…" She pulled the red leather sleeve back to show off the shiny metal. It was easier to just show it, they both had seen automail plenty of times, they worked with Fullmetal for heaven's sake.

"Oh, so you have automail?" The three began to walk towards the hospital, either to go get Winry or to have her checked out Reagan figured.

"Yeah, it's still kinda new…" Now that she was thinking about it her arm was kinda sore now…

"Well let's get you back to Winry, okay Reagan?" Reagan merely nodded and followed the two soldiers.

'_I hope Winry doesn't kill me for getting into a fight...or for getting away from her...'_

"Here she is Winry." Hawkeye opened the door carefully and walked in with Reagan behind her and the Colonel closing the door behind the two and then proceeding to talk to Fullmetal behind the privacy curtain.

"Oh thank you! I was so worried about you!" Winry latched on to Reagan and squeezed tightly causing Reagan to wince in pain as Winry agitated the bruises.

"You...You're hurt? What happened?!" Reagan knew she had to be cautious here, she could easily piss Winry off by saying the wrong thing and start a fight which could cause even more bodily harm.

"There was a minor altercation, but don't worry, your friend is fine Winry." Hawkeye was a double savior! First from the thugs, and now Winry! The glance Hawkeye sent towards Reagan was a knowing one.

'_I owe Hawkeye double now and she knows it.'_

"Hey Winry! Who is this friend you're referring too?" The voice called out from behind the curtain caused Reagan's heart to speed up to lightning speed.

"Oh here, let me introduce you." Winry gently took Reagan's metal hand and led her around the curtain.

"Edward, Reagan, and Reagan, Edward." Winry smiled pleasantly as a metallic voice protested.

"Winry! What about me?" Reagan and Winry turned to face the giant metal suit that rose from the bedside.

'_Whoa. That's a big suit of armor...'_

"Oh sorry Al! Reagan this is Alphonse, Ed's younger brother!"

"Well would you look at that, both of them are short too!" The Colonel snickered as both golden haired teens turned to glare at him and shriek in unison-

"WHO THE HELL YOU CALLING A TINY PIPSQUEAK?!"

The room went dead silent as the two teen alchemists stared at each other. A smile spread on both of their faces as shock covered everyone else.

'_Oh, this will be real good.'_


End file.
